1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a history management system for managing, via a network, the history of parts comprising a product installed at the location of a customer.
2. Description of Related Art
There are history management systems that are used for managing the history of a product, like computer equipment sold to a customer for example, using a network like the internet. These systems can be used to provide things like maintenance services. Such systems are premised on the product being managed having a network connection part that enables it to be connected to a network. Such a product could include for example, computer equipment connected to a network. Information acquired via a network on parts comprising computer equipment sold to a customer can be used when maintenance services are performed.
The applicant has searched prior art documents relating to this invention and found as follows,
JP2000-048066A,
JP2000-246921A,
JP2000-285170A, and
JP2001-225915A.
However, a history management system of the prior art, managing for example computer equipment, performs its history management only in respect of those parts comprising the computer that are capable of being recognized by an operating system, in other words only those parts recognized by a CPU (central processing unit), and those parts that cannot be recognized by the CPU cannot be subject to history management performed using a network. For example, parts like a hard disk or flexible disk drive are connected to the main board where the CPU or control chip for example is located, using a prescribed cable, but history management systems of the prior art are not capable of performing history management for this cable. In other words, a problem affecting history management systems of the prior art is that they are incapable of managing the history of a passive part, such as a cable for example.
The present invention aims to solve the above problem. It""s object is to provide a history management system capable of ascertaining, via a network, the history of a passive part comprising a product, such as a cable.
A history management system according to the present invention comprises a noncontact label applied to each part comprising a product which label has a storage part that transfers data to and receives from an external entity through wireless transmission and a noncontact label reader that connects to a prescribed network in the product, that through wireless transmission reads-out part information stored in the storage part of the noncontact label, and operates such that the storage part of the noncontact label stores part information comprised of information concerning the part to which the noncontact label of that storage part is applied and in response to a transmission request for part information received via the network, that noncontact label reader reads, through wireless transmission, the part information stored in the storage part and outputs that part information to the source that issued the transmission request.
According to this invention the part information stored in the storage part of the noncontact label installed for the part can be acquired via a network.
Another embodiment of a history management system according to the present invention comprises a noncontact label applied to each part comprising a product which label has a storage part that transfers data to and receives from an external entity through wireless transmission and a noncontact label reader that connects to a prescribed network in the product, that through wireless transmission reads-out part information stored in the storage part of the noncontact label and a maintenance server connected to the network, and operates such that the storage part of the noncontact label stores part information comprised of information concerning the part to which the noncontact label of that storage part is applied and the noncontact label reader receives via the network, a transmission request for part information output from the maintenance server, reads out through wireless transmission, part information stored in the storage part of the noncontact label and transmits the part information thus read out to the maintenance server via the network.
According to this invention the part information stored in the storage part of the noncontact label installed for the part can be accessed at the connected maintenance server via a network.
Parts for the above history management system, are a CPU, liquid crystal display part, a prepaid card reader/writer, a flexible drive device, a thermal printer, a hard disk device, power supply unit, cache drawer part and an extension board and the information provided by these parts is read in by the noncontact label reader via the CPU and stored in each noncontact label.